Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has cautioned that if Western nations fail to prioritize open-source artificial intelligence, China will take the lead.
What Happened: Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris with the Financial Times, Schmidt pointed out that most leading U.S. large language models (LLMs), such as Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google Gemini, OpenAI's GPT-4, and Anthropic's Claude, are closed-source.
"If we don't do something about that, China will ultimately become the open-source leader and the rest of the world will become closed-source," Schmidt told the publication.
See Also: Sam Altman's OpenAI Set To Finalize In-House AI Chip, Reducing Dependence On Nvidia: Report
He warned that Western universities and researchers could struggle to afford proprietary AI models, stifling scientific discovery. While Meta Platforms, Inc.'s META Llama is an exception, Schmidt argued that broader efforts are needed to maintain technological leadership.
Why It Matters: Schmidt’s warning comes in the wake of a significant development by Chinese start-up DeepSeek, which has introduced R1, a powerful open large language model.
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Last month, its launch shook tech markets, sparking volatility in AI stocks. At one point, Nvidia Corporation saw significant turbulence, falling 17%.
Notably, on Tuesday, the U.S. and the U.K. chose not to sign a global AI safety declaration at the AI Action Summit in Paris, diverging from the stance of around 60 other countries, including China, India, and Germany.
Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed a shift in perspective on open source. “I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open-source strategy,” Altman stated at the time.
"I think that [Altman] was being a little too quick," Schmidt said, advocating for a combination of open- and closed-source models.
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